[Federal Register: October 10, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 197)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 63064-63065]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10oc02-9]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
50 CFR Part 17
RIN 1018-AH94
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of
Critical Habitat for Blackburn's Sphinx Moth
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Proposed rule; public hearing announcement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) gives notice of a
public hearing on the proposed critical habitat designation for
Blackburn's sphinx moth (Manduca blackburni). The public hearing on the
island of Hawaii and extension of the comment period will allow all
interested parties to submit oral or written comments on the proposal.
We are seeking comments or suggestions from the public, other concerned
agencies, the scientific community, industry, or any other interested
parties concerning the proposed rule. Comments already submitted on the
proposed rule need not be resubmitted as they will be fully considered
in the final determination.
[[Page 63065]]
DATES: The comment period for this proposal closes on December 30,
2002. Any comments received by the closing date will be considered in
the final decision on this proposal. One public hearing will be held on
the island of Hawaii, on Tuesday, October 29, 2002, in Kailua-Kona from
5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Prior to the public hearing, the Service will be
available from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. to provide information and to answer
questions.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing in Kailua-Kona will be held at the King
Kamehameha Hotel, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Comments
and materials concerning this proposal should be sent to the Field
Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Office, 300
Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122, PO Box 50088, Honolulu, HI 96850.
Comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Henson, at the above address,
(telephone 808/541-3441, facsimile 808/541-3470).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The public hearing for the proposed rule to
designate critical habitat for Blackburn's sphinx moth announced in
this Federal Register notice and the public hearing for the proposed
designation of critical habitat for 47 plants from the island of Hawaii
announced in a separate Federal Register notice are scheduled for the
same date, time, and location in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii as a matter of
convenience to the public. We will accept comments at this public
hearing on the proposed designation of critical habitat for Blackburn's
sphinx moth, as well as the proposed designation of critical habitat
for 47 plants from the island of Hawaii.
Background
On June 13, 2002, we published a proposed critical habitat rule for
the Blackburn's sphinx moth (Manduca blackburni) listed under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act) (16 U.S.C. 1531 et.
seq.), known historically from the islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui,
Molokai, and Oahu, and known currently from the islands of Hawaii,
Kahoolawe, and Maui (67 FR 40633). The original comment period closed
on August 12, 2002. The comment period now closes on December 30, 2002.
A final listing rule, listing the Blackburn's sphinx moth as
endangered, was published in the Federal Register on February 1, 2000
(65 FR 4770). In that final rule, we determined that critical habitat
designation for the moth would be prudent, and we also indicated that
we were not able to develop a proposed critical habitat designation for
the species at that time due to budgetary and workload constraints.
On June 2, 2000, we were ordered by the U.S. District Court for the
District of Hawaii (in Center for Biological Diversity v. Babbitt and
Clark, Civ. No. 99-00603 (D. Haw.) to publish the final critical
habitat designation for Blackburn's sphinx moth by February 1, 2002.
The plaintiffs and the Service entered into a consent decree in a
separate action agreeing to jointly seek an extension of this deadline
(Center for Biological Diversity v. Norton, Civ. No. 01-2063 D.D.C.
October 2, 2001).
On January 30, 2002, the U.S. District Court in Hawaii approved a
joint stipulation to modify the terms of the June 2 order to extend the
deadline to August 10, 2002. Subsequently, the Service determined that
an additional extension of time was needed to complete this designation
making process. On August 21, 2002, the U.S. District Court in Hawaii
approved another joint stipulation extending the date for the final
rule designating critical habitat for this species to May 30, 2003.
The proposed rule published June 13, 2002, proposes to designate
eight separate units, totaling approximately 40,240 hectares (99,433
acres) on the Hawaiian Islands of Maui, Hawaii, Molokai, and Kahoolawe
as critical habitat for Blackburn's sphinx moth. For locations of these
proposed units, please consult the proposed rule (67 FR 40633).
Section 4(b)(5)(E) of the Act, requires that a public hearing be
held if it is requested within 45 days of the publication of a proposed
rule. In response to requests from various parties, we will hold a
public hearing on the date and at the address described in the DATES
and ADDRESSES sections above. The public hearing and extension of the
comment period allows all interested parties to submit oral or written
comments on the proposal.
Anyone wishing to make an oral statement for the record is
encouraged to provide a written copy of their statement and present it
to us at the hearing. In the event there is a large attendance, the
time allotted for oral statements may be limited. Oral and written
statements receive equal consideration. There are no limits to the
length of written comments presented at the hearing or mailed to us.
Legal notices announcing the date, time, and location of the public
hearing will be published in newspapers concurrently with the Federal
Register notice.
Persons needing reasonable accommodations in order to attend and
participate in the public hearing should contact Patti Carroll at 503/
231-2080 as soon as possible. In order to allow sufficient time to
process requests, please call no later than one week before the hearing
date. Information regarding this proposal is available in alternative
formats upon request.
Comments from the public regarding this proposed rule are sought,
especially regarding:
(1) The reasons why any particular area should or should not be
designated as critical habitat for this species, as defined by section
3 of the Act;
(2) Specific information on the amount, distribution, and quality
of habitat for the species, and what habitat is essential to the
conservation of the species and why;
(3) Land use practices and current or planned activities in the
subject areas, and their possible impacts on proposed critical habitat;
(4) Any economic or other impacts resulting from the proposed
designations of critical habitat, including any impacts on small
entities, energy development, low-income households, and local
governments;
(5) Economic and other potential values associated with designating
critical habitat for the above species such as those derived from non-
consumptive uses (e.g., hiking, camping, birding, enhanced watershed
protection, increased soil retention, ``existence values'', and
reductions in administrative costs); and
(6) Information for use, under section 4(b)(2) of the Act, in
determining if the benefits of excluding an area from critical habitat
outweigh the benefits of specifying the area as critical habitat.
The comment period on this proposal closes on December 30, 2002.
Written comments should be submitted to the Service office listed in
the ADDRESSES section.
Author
The primary author of this notice is Mike Richardson (see ADDRESSES
section).
Authority: The authority for this action is the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: October 1, 2002.
Paul Hoffman,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 02-25722Filed 10-9-02; 8:45 am]
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